Lyrica tallied U.S. sales of about $1.8 billion for the year ended in March, according to data from IMS Health Inc.

“Pregabalin has become a very popular drug for treating certain types of seizure disorders, post-herpetic neuralgia and diabetic peripheral neuropathy, fibromyalgia, and neuropathic pain,” said James M. Wooten, PharmD, associate professor, department of medicine, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, and advisor for Formulary, the sister publication of Drug Topics. “Because these symptoms affect a wide array of patients, the use of the drug has steadily increased. The drug is also marketed directly to the consumer so many patients are familiar with the drug before discussing its use with their physicians. Generic pregabalin would be a welcome addition as long as its cost is less than the brand name Lyrica. Unfortunately, predicting the cost of future generic drugs is not always accurate, so it is prudent to wait and assess the economic impact of generic pregabalin until more cost data is available.”